* FBI’s own statistics show that pornography is found at 80 percent of the scenes of violent sex crimes, and in the homes of the perpetrators” (1).

* The University of New Hampshire did a study that showed that the states with the highest readership of pornographic magazines like Playboy and Penthouse, also have the highest rape rates (2).

*The Michigan State Police Department found that pornography is used or imitated in 41 percent of the sex crimes they have investigated (3).

*Dr. Victor Cline did research that showed how men who become addicted to pornographic materials begin to want more explicit or deviant material and end up acting out what they have seen (5).

* Now this one will make your skin crawl—Dr. James Dobson interviewed Ted Bundy, one of the nation’s most notorious serial killers, on the day before his execution. Bundy said that the “most damaging kinds of pornography are those that involve sexual violence . . . The wedding of those two forces, as I know only too well, brings about behavior that is just, just too terrible to describe” (1).

*Two doctors noted in their research-based book, Pornography and Sexual Aggression, that “Certain [aggressive] forms of pornography can affect aggressive attitudes toward women and can desensitize an individual’s perception of rape. These attitudes and perceptions are, furthermore, directly related to actual aggressive behavior against women.” They also found that adult pornography was connected with each of the 1,400 child sexual molestation cases in Louisville, Kentucky, and child pornography was connected with the majority of them (21).

*Another review of controlled studies found that extensive viewing of the type of pornographic material commonly sold at adult bookstores was positively correlated with an increased self-reported willingness to commit rape or other forced sexual acts (28).

*The Kingston Sexual Offenders Clinic in Canada found “an unexpected finding” when they conducted a study of their patients over a period of six years. “One of the rapists reported that he used consenting sex depictions to incite rape images in the process of preparing himself to attack a woman. Subsequent questioning revealed a further five rapists who made similar claims, and 10 of the 10 rapists who currently used (pornography) for enjoyment (not necessarily preparatory to offending) also said they used it to incite rape fantasies (22).

*Another study says that a non-rapist population will show increased sexual arousal after having been exposed to “media-presented images of rape,” especially when the female victim demonstrates signs of pleasure and arousal. This exposure, they further claim, may also lead to a lessened sensitivity toward rape, acceptance of rape myths, and increased self-reported likelihood of raping and self-generated rape fantasies (11)(12).

*Dr. Dolf Zillman and Dr. Jennings Bryant showed that continued exposure to pornography had serious negative effects on beliefs about sexuality in general, and on attitudes toward women in particular. They also found that pornography desensitizes people to rape as a criminal offense, and that massive exposure to pornography encourages a desire for increasingly deviant materials that depict violence (such as sadomasochism and rape) (29).

* Individuals with a predisposition for aggression (i.e., men who are at relatively high risk for aggression) have shown to be particularly drawn to images of pornography and are more likely to expose themselves to such images in the future than lower-risk individuals. Moreover, a number of priming studies have shown that men with earlier risk characteristics may interpret sexually explicit material differently than lower-risk individuals, such that pornography activates and reinforces inappropriate cognitive representations (e.g., hostility toward women) and fosters the development of sexual preoccupation in these men (14).

*A review study based on 81 research studies (35 using aggressive porn stimuli and 46 using non-aggressive porn stimuli), concluded that “the empirical research on the effects of aggressive pornography shows, with impressive consistency, that exposure to these materials has a negative effect on attitudes toward women and the perceived likelihood to rape.” The study also noted that 70 percent of the 46 non-aggressive studies reported clear evidence of negative effects of exposure (25).

*A meta-analysis, using the results of 24 original experimental studies, found that “violence within the pornography is not necessary to increase the acceptance of ‘rape myths’ (i.e., the myth that women secretly desire to be raped).” The study noted that the link between acceptance of rape myths and exposure to pornography stems from a simple premise—“that most pornography commodifies sex, that women become objects used for male pleasure, and that as objects of desire, they are to be acted on” (25).

*A study for the Canadian Department of Justice found that when they exposed individuals who were habitually “high-frequency porn consumers” to non-violent, dehumanizing porn, those individuals were particularly likely to report that they might rape, were more sexually callous, and reported engaging in more acts of sexual aggression. The authors noted that the porn the individuals were exposed to was the kind that may in fact be most prevalent in mainstream commercial entertainment videos. The study found that more than twice as many men indicated at least some likelihood of raping after exposure to this material—20.4 percent of those who were exposed, versus 9.4 percent of those who weren’t exposed (25).

*Another review of a series of studies of “common pornography” found that its consumption led to insensitivity towards victims of sexual violence, trivialization of rape as a criminal offense, trivialization of sexual child abuse as a criminal offense, increased belief that lack of sexual activity leads to health risks and increased acceptance of pre and extra-marital sexuality. The study noted, “habitual male consumers of common pornography appear to be at greater risk of becoming sexually callous towards female sexuality and concerns” (25).

You can see that there’s tons of info that backs up the connection between viewing porn and committing sex crimes. But, just so you get both sides of the issue, the porn pushers think they have evidence to support their point too. Here are the studies they always talk about:
*Berl Kutchinsky of Denmark studied the countries of Denmark, Sweden, West Germany, and the U.S.A. Kutchinsky showed that for the years 1964 to 1984, as the pornography became increasingly available, the rate of rapes in these countries either decreased, or remained relatively stable. These countries all legalized or decriminalized pornography in 1969, 1970, and 1973 respectfully. The rates of nonsexual violent crimes and nonviolent sex crimes (e.g., peeping and flashing) essentially decreased also. Only in the U.S. did it appear that in the 1970s and 1980s, as porn became increasingly available, that rape appeared to increase (5)(15)(16)(17)(18)(5). The theory Kutchinsky came up with based on his studies is that the easy availability of pornography had caused sex crimes to decrease by acting as a “safety-valve” for potential offenders.
*Studies of Croatioa and Shanghai, China also showed significant decreases in rape as pornography became increasingly available. To add to this data, it should be mentioned that yet unpublished studies from Poland, Finland, and the Czech Republic also similarly found that as the availability of pornography increased, the incidence of sex crimes decreased (7)(8)(9)(10)(19).
So what’s the catch? Why is there support for both sides? Well, the porn pushers love to talk about these studies because they seem to validate their points. What they don’t like to talk about is how the people who have since reviewed these studies have found some major flaws in the conclusions. It turns out that there are a couple of things that distorted the results.
First of all, at the same time that pornography was legalized in all of those countries, a lot of other sex crimes including peeping, “indecency towards women,” and certain types of incest, were also made legal. So with those things no longer considered a crime, it’s no wonder the crime rates dropped.
Second, Kutchinsky put rape in the same category as less serious sex crimes. That made it easier to hide the fact that serious crimes like rape actually increased after pornography was legalized in Denmark (5).
Porn advocates also don’t like to talk much about the results of studies in Sweden, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia, where the number of rapes increased when the constraints on the availability of pornography were lifted. Like how “when South Australia liberalized its laws on pornography and Queensland maintained its conservative policy . . . the number of rapes in Queensland remained at the same low level while South Australia’s showed a six fold increase” over a 13 year period (25).
There are some other things too that pro-pornography people like to say to discount the connection between pornography and sexual crime. Some people say it’s the characteristics of the people involved in sexual crime that matters more than the availability of pornography (1)(26)(27). Other researchers basically suggest that aggressive images rather than sexual images may be the primary instigation toward sexual offense (11)(12). Others reviewing the relation of aggression to sexual assault conclude it is time to discard the hypothesis that pornography contributes to increased sexual assault behavior and “may actually provide a catharsis to alleviate sexual aggression” (13). A lot of people call this the “Cathartic Theory.” (So, mostly it’s just a lot of “scientist people” that call it that. I mean, when was the last time you heard one of your friends talk about the Cathartic Theory?)
But no matter what people say to try to try and make pornography seem good or harmless, there’s enough evidence out there that says it’s not, especially when it’s in the wrong hands. With porn being so easy to find, affordable, and accessible, you’ve got to know what you’re up against. Learn the facts about the negative affects of porn—all of them, there’s way more than just the link between porn and sexual crime—and you’ll think twice before looking at it.
(1) Anderson, K.J. (2003). “Pornography”. http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/porno.html
(2) Baron, L., & Straus, M. (1984). Sexual stratification, pornography, and rape in the United States. In N. M. Malamuth & E. Donnerstein (Eds.), Pornography, sexual aggression (pp. 185-209). New York: Academic Press.
(3) Campbell, M.C., & Campbell, J.M. (2005). The Engines of World War III. Retrieved January 2011
(4) Carter, D. L., Prentky, R. A., Knight, R. A., Vanderveer, P. L., Boucher, R. J. (1987). “Use of Pornography in the Criminal and Developmental Histories of Sexual Offenders”. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2: 196–211.
(5) Cline, V. (2009). “Pornography’s Effects on Adults and Children”. Retrieved January 2011 http://www.scribd.com/doc/20282510/Dr-Victor-Cline-Pornography-s-Effects-on-Adults-and-Children
(6) Davies, K.A. (2004). “Voluntary exposure to pornography and men’s attitudes toward feminism and rape”. Journal of Sex Research. Retrieved Jan, 2011. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2372/is_n2_v34/ai_19551963/
(7) Diamond, M. (1999). The effects of pornography: an international perspective. In J. Elias, V. Bullough, V. Elias, G. Brewer, J. Douglas & W. Jarvis (Eds.), Pornography 101: Eroticism, Sexuality and the First Amendment (223–260) Amherst: Prometheus Press.
(8) Diamond, M. (in preparation). Pornography and Sex Crimes in Poland
(9) Diamond, M., & Kotula, O. (in preparation). Pornography and Sex Crimes in Finland.
(10) Diamond, M., Jozifkova, E., Weiss, P. (2010). “Pornography and Sex Crimes in the Czech Republic. Received: 29 July 2009 / Revised: 30 August 2010 /Accepted: 30 August 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010.
(11) Donnerstein, E., & Linz, D. (1986). Mass media sexual violence and male viewers: current theory and research. American Behavioral Scientist, 29, 601?618.
(12) Donnerstein, E., Linz, D., & Penrod, S. (1987). The question of Pornography: Research ?ndings and policy implications. New York: Free Press.
(13) Ferguson, C. J. and R. D. Hartley (2009). “14.” Aggression and Violent Behavior 14(5): 323-329.
(14) Kingston, D.A., Fedoroff, P., Firestone, P., Curry, S., Bradford, J.M. (2008). “Pornography Use and Sexual Aggression: The Impact of Frequency and Type of Pornography Use on Recidivism Among Sexual Offenders”. Aggressive Behavior, Vol. 34, p. 341–351.
(15) Kutchinsky, B. (1973). The effect of easy availability of pornography on the incidence of sex crimes: the Danish experience. Journal of Social Issues, 29, 163?181.
(16) Kutchinsky, B. (1983). Obscenity and pornography: behavioral aspects. In S. H. Kadish (Ed.), Encyclopedia of crime and justice, vol. 3. (pp. 1077?1086)New York: Free Press.
(17) Kutchinsky, B. (1991). Pornography and rape: theory and practice? Evidence from crime data in four countries where pornography is easily available. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 14, 47?64.
(18) Kutchinsky, B. (1992b). Pornography, sex crime and public policy. Paper presented at the Sex Industry and Public Policy, Canberra, Australia.
(19) Landripet, I., Stulhofer, A., & Diamond, M. (2006). “Assessing the in?uence of pornography on sexual violence: a cross-cultural perspective”. Paper presented at the International Academy for Sex Research Amsterdam, The Netherlands (July 12–15).
(20) Malamuth NM. Donnerstein E (1982): The effects of aggressive-pornographic of mass media stimuli. In Berkowitz L (Ed): “Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol.15.” New York: Academic Press.
(21) Malamuth NM, Donnerstein E (Eds) (1984): “Pornography and Sexual Aggression.” New York: Academic Press.
(22) Marshall, W.L. (1988). “The Use of Sexually Explicit Materials by Rapists, Child Molesters and Nonoffenders,” Journal of Sex Research, 25, No. 2, pp. 267-288.
(23) Peters, R. (2004). “The Link between Pornography and Violent Sex Crimes”. Retrieved January 2011. http://www.obscenitycrimes.org/news/Pornography-SexCrimes-Link-RWP.pdf
(24) Silbert, M.H., Pines, A.M. (1984). “Pornography and sexual abuse of women”. Sex Roles 10: 857–68.
(25) Watson, B., Welch, S.R. (2000). “Just Harmless Fun? Understanding the Impact of Pornography,” Enough Is Enough, http://www.enough.org/objects/justharmlessfun.pdf
(26) Winick, C., & Evans, J. T. (1994). Is there a national standard with respect to attitudes toward sexually explicit media material? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23(4), 405?419.
(27) Winick, C., & Evans, J. T. (1996). The relationship between nonenforcement of state pornography laws and rates of sex crime arrests. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 25(5), 439?453.
(28) Zillmann, D. (1986). “Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography”, Included in the Report of the Surgeon General’s Workshop on Pornography and Public Health, United States Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, August 4, 1986.
(29) Zillmann, D., Bryant, J. (1982). Pornography, sexual callousness, and the trivialization of rape. Journal of Communication, 32(4), 10-21.
(30) Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2010). Processes underlying the effects of adolescents’ use of sexually explicit internet material: The role of perceived realism. Communication Research, 37, 375-399. doi: 10.1177/0093650210362464

Facts and Figures
Print
Internet Pornography
420 million-plus pages of pornographic material online worldwide (IFR)
72 million worldwide visitors to porn websites monthly (IFR)
25% of all search engine requests daily are for pornography (68 million searches daily) (IFR)
2.5 billion daily pornographic emails (8% of total emails) (IFR)
42.7% Internet users who view porn (IFR)
100,000-plus websites are devote to child pornography (IFR)
20% of men admit to accessing pornography at work (IFR)
35% of those purchasing online porn make $75,000-plus annually (IFR)
The United States is the top producer of pornographic web pages with 244,661,900, or 89 percent (IFR)
Worldwide revenue from mobile phone pornography is $1 billion-plus and growing (Bryan-Low, Cassel and Pringle, David. “Sex Cells: Wireless Operators Find That Racy Cellphone Video Drives Surge in Broadband Use.” The Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2005)
Industry Size and Revenues
Annual revenues of the pornography industry in the U.S. are $13.3 billion. This is more than the revenues of the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball combined; more than NBC, CBS and ABC combined; larger than the revenues of the top technology companies (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple and Netflix) combined (IFR; 2006)
11,000-plus porn videos were produced in the U.S. in 2006, more than 20 times the number of mainstream Hollywood movies (60 Minutes, Dec. 5, 2007)
55% of the movie rentals in hotel chains are pornographic “adult entertainment” moves (Adult Video News)
The Internet accounted for $2.5 billion of the adult industry’s total U.S. revenues in 2004 (“Dirty Downloads Ready to Go on iPods,” Associated Press, Nov. 5, 2005)
Every second, $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography, 28,258 Internet viewers are viewing pornography, 372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines, and every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is made in the United States (IFR)
Impact
10% of adults admit to an addiction to online pornography (IFR)
20% of men admit they access pornography at work (IFR)
It is estimated that 15% of those using Internet pornography develop a compulsive habit that disrupts their lives (Pamela Paul, Pornified, 2004)
At the 2002 American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers convention, attorneys present reported that 56% of their recent divorce cases resulted from a spouse’s compulsive Internet porn use (Paul, 2005)
After watching just 6 hours of nonviolent pornography, research subjects in one study were much less likely to desire sexual intimacy with their real partners, or to be interested in marriage or children (Zillmann and Bryant, 1986)
70% of women say that they keep their cyber activities secret (IFR)
The links between pornography use and subsequent aggression was proved so successfully by Zillmann and Bryant that their studies cannot be replicated for fear of further harming research subjects (Paul, 2005)
17% of women struggle with pornography addiction (IFR)
9.4 million women access adult websites each month (IFR)
13% of women admit to accessing pornography at work (IFR)
1 in 3 visitors to pornographic websites are women (IFR)
70% of all Internet porn traffic occurs during workdays (9 am-5 pm) (Sextracker.com)
Studies show that after viewing pornography men are more likely to:
1. report decreased empathy for rape victims
2. report believing that a woman who dresses provocatively deserves to be raped
3. report anger at women who flirt but then refuse to have sex
4. report decreased sexual interest in their girlfriends or wives
5. report increased interest in coercing partners into unwanted sex acts
(“Pornography’s Effects on Interpersonal Relationships,” 2006, by Ana J. Bridges, University of Arkansas)
About 350 members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the nation’s top divorce attorneys, met in 2002 for an annual conference, where they reported in 2002 that more than half — 56% — of their recent divorce cases resulted from a spouse’s compulsive Internet porn use (Paul, 2005). The problems most frequently cited by the attorneys were: obsessive interest in pornographic sites, 56%; excessive time on computer, 47%; and excessive time communicating in chat rooms, 33%. According to Richard Berry, president of the Academy, “Pornography had an almost nonexistent role in divorce just seven or eight years ago”; its significant role now is “clearly due to the Internet.”
When 813 college students from six college campuses participated in a 2008 survey on pornography use, findings included: 86% of the men said they had viewed pornography in the last year; 48.4% were viewing pornography weekly; and 19.3% were viewing pornography almost every day. 31% of the women had viewed pornography in the last year and 3.2% were viewing pornography weekly. (Jason S. Carroll, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Larry J. Nelson, Chad D. Olson, Carolyn McNamara Barry, and Stephanie D. Madsen, “Generation XXX: Pornography Acceptance and Use among Emerging Adults.” 2008. Journal of Adolescent Research vol. 23 no. 1: 6-30.)
Children and Pornography
Four out of five 16-year-old boys and girls regularly access porn on the Internet, and that more than a quarter of young patients at a leading private clinic are being treated for addiction to online pornography, according a 2012 report by the Independent Parliamentary Inquiry Into Online Child Protection in the United Kingdom.http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/9603/20120419/internet-porn-pornography-children-uk.htm#jd8IoaCvEueGdiUs.99
11 years old is the average age of first exposure to Internet pornography (IFR)
85% of men arrested for possession of child pornography had sexually exploited a child, according to a 2008 study by Michael Bourke, chief psychologist for the US Marshals Service
76% of offenders convicted of Internet-related crimes against children admitted to contact sex crimes with children previously undetected by law enforcement and had an average of 30.5 child sex victims each, according to a 2000 study by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Reports by state-based Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) task forces confirms, through its law enforcement and fieldwork, the positive correlation between the possession of child pornography and the commission of crimes against children. For instance, the Pennsylvania-based ICAC task force reported that 51% of individuals arrested for pornography-related offenses were also determined to be actively molesting children or to have molested in the past. In Dallas, the ICAC task force found that 32% of offenders arrested over the course of one year for child pornography offenses were also molesting children or had molested in the past.
At least 80% of purchasers of child pornography are active abusers, and nearly 40% of the child pornographers investigated over the past several years, have sexually molested children in the past, according to the United States Postal Inspection Service. From January 1997 through March 2004, 1,807 child pornographers were arrested and 620 of these individuals were confirmed child molesters. Therefore, between 34-36% of these child pornographers were actual child molesters, defined as someone who had confessed to acts of molestation, someone who had a record for molestation, or someone who was involved in an overt act in order to procure children for sexual purposes. The 620 confirmed child molesters led to 839 child victims who were identified and rescued.
In a study of arrested child pornography possessors, 40% had both sexually victimized children and were in possession of child pornography. Of those arrested between 2000 and 2001, 83% had images involving children between the ages 6 and 12; 39% had images of children between ages 3 and 5; and 19% had images of infants and toddlers under age 3 (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Child Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings from the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study, 2005).
The main sex exploitation offense referred to U.S. attorneys shifted from sex abuse (73%) in 1994 to child pornography (69%) in 2006, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Child pornography matters accounted for 82% of the growth in sex exploitation matters referred from 1994 to 2006.
Child pornography is one of the fastest growing businesses online. In 2008, Internet Watch Foundation found 1,536 individual child abuse domains (Internet Watch Foundation, Annual Report, 2008)
The largest consumer group of Internet pornography is the 12-17-year-old age group (IFR)
Of all known child abuse domains, 58% are housed in the United States (Internet Watch Foundation, Annual Report, 2008)
The fastest growing demand in commercial websites for child abuse is for images depicting the worst type of abuse, including penetrative sexual activity involving children and adults and sadism or penetration by an animal (Internet Watch Foundation, Annual Report, 2008)
More than 20,000 images of child pornography posted online every week (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Oct., 8 2003)
Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children (National Center for Mission & Exploited Children)
Sources: Internet Filter Review (IFR) sources include: ABC, Associated Press, AsiaMedia, AVN, BBC, CATW, U.S. Census, Central Intelligence Agency, China Daily, Chosen.com, Comscore Media Metrix, Crimes Against Children, Eros, Forbes, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Free Speech Coalition, Google, Harris Interactive, Hitwise, Hoover’s, Japan Inc., Japan Review, Juniper Research, Kagan Research, ICMEC, Jan LaRue, The Miami Herald, MSN, Nielsen/NetRatings, The New York Times, Nordic Institute, PhysOrg.com, PornStudies, Pravda, Sarmatian Review, SEC filings, Secure Computing Corp., SMH, TopTenREVIEWS, Trellian, WICAT, Yahoo!, XBIZ
Additional sources of facts on pornography and sexual violence
CDC Injury Center: Sexual Violence
FBI: Human Trafficking
Internet Filter Review
Statistics culled from numerous sources
National Juvenile Online Victimization Survey Publications (Crimes Against Children Research Center at University of New Hampshire)
National Institute of Justice: Rape and Sexual Violence information
National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Extensive online resource
The Porn Economy
A video on pornography statistics
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Criminal Victimization reports from the Office of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women
A component of the U.S. Department of Justice; provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women and administer justice for and strengthen services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

* FBI’s own statistics show that pornography is found at 80 percent of the scenes of violent sex crimes, and in the homes of the perpetrators” (1).

* The University of New Hampshire did a study that showed that the states with the highest readership of pornographic magazines like Playboy and Penthouse, also have the highest rape rates (2).

*The Michigan State Police Department found that pornography is used or imitated in 41 percent of the sex crimes they have investigated (3).

*Dr. Victor Cline did research that showed how men who become addicted to pornographic materials begin to want more explicit or deviant material and end up acting out what they have seen (5).

* Now this one will make your skin crawl—Dr. James Dobson interviewed Ted Bundy, one of the nation’s most notorious serial killers, on the day before his execution. Bundy said that the “most damaging kinds of pornography are those that involve sexual violence . . . The wedding of those two forces, as I know only too well, brings about behavior that is just, just too terrible to describe” (1).

*Two doctors noted in their research-based book, Pornography and Sexual Aggression, that “Certain [aggressive] forms of pornography can affect aggressive attitudes toward women and can desensitize an individual’s perception of rape. These attitudes and perceptions are, furthermore, directly related to actual aggressive behavior against women.” They also found that adult pornography was connected with each of the 1,400 child sexual molestation cases in Louisville, Kentucky, and child pornography was connected with the majority of them (21).

*Another review of controlled studies found that extensive viewing of the type of pornographic material commonly sold at adult bookstores was positively correlated with an increased self-reported willingness to commit rape or other forced sexual acts (28).

*The Kingston Sexual Offenders Clinic in Canada found “an unexpected finding” when they conducted a study of their patients over a period of six years. “One of the rapists reported that he used consenting sex depictions to incite rape images in the process of preparing himself to attack a woman. Subsequent questioning revealed a further five rapists who made similar claims, and 10 of the 10 rapists who currently used (pornography) for enjoyment (not necessarily preparatory to offending) also said they used it to incite rape fantasies (22).

*Another study says that a non-rapist population will show increased sexual arousal after having been exposed to “media-presented images of rape,” especially when the female victim demonstrates signs of pleasure and arousal. This exposure, they further claim, may also lead to a lessened sensitivity toward rape, acceptance of rape myths, and increased self-reported likelihood of raping and self-generated rape fantasies (11)(12).

*Dr. Dolf Zillman and Dr. Jennings Bryant showed that continued exposure to pornography had serious negative effects on beliefs about sexuality in general, and on attitudes toward women in particular. They also found that pornography desensitizes people to rape as a criminal offense, and that massive exposure to pornography encourages a desire for increasingly deviant materials that depict violence (such as sadomasochism and rape) (29).

* Individuals with a predisposition for aggression (i.e., men who are at relatively high risk for aggression) have shown to be particularly drawn to images of pornography and are more likely to expose themselves to such images in the future than lower-risk individuals. Moreover, a number of priming studies have shown that men with earlier risk characteristics may interpret sexually explicit material differently than lower-risk individuals, such that pornography activates and reinforces inappropriate cognitive representations (e.g., hostility toward women) and fosters the development of sexual preoccupation in these men (14).

*A review study based on 81 research studies (35 using aggressive porn stimuli and 46 using non-aggressive porn stimuli), concluded that “the empirical research on the effects of aggressive pornography shows, with impressive consistency, that exposure to these materials has a negative effect on attitudes toward women and the perceived likelihood to rape.” The study also noted that 70 percent of the 46 non-aggressive studies reported clear evidence of negative effects of exposure (25).

*A meta-analysis, using the results of 24 original experimental studies, found that “violence within the pornography is not necessary to increase the acceptance of ‘rape myths’ (i.e., the myth that women secretly desire to be raped).” The study noted that the link between acceptance of rape myths and exposure to pornography stems from a simple premise—“that most pornography commodifies sex, that women become objects used for male pleasure, and that as objects of desire, they are to be acted on” (25).

*A study for the Canadian Department of Justice found that when they exposed individuals who were habitually “high-frequency porn consumers” to non-violent, dehumanizing porn, those individuals were particularly likely to report that they might rape, were more sexually callous, and reported engaging in more acts of sexual aggression. The authors noted that the porn the individuals were exposed to was the kind that may in fact be most prevalent in mainstream commercial entertainment videos. The study found that more than twice as many men indicated at least some likelihood of raping after exposure to this material—20.4 percent of those who were exposed, versus 9.4 percent of those who weren’t exposed (25).

*Another review of a series of studies of “common pornography” found that its consumption led to insensitivity towards victims of sexual violence, trivialization of rape as a criminal offense, trivialization of sexual child abuse as a criminal offense, increased belief that lack of sexual activity leads to health risks and increased acceptance of pre and extra-marital sexuality. The study noted, “habitual male consumers of common pornography appear to be at greater risk of becoming sexually callous towards female sexuality and concerns” (25).

You can see that there’s tons of info that backs up the connection between viewing porn and committing sex crimes. But, just so you get both sides of the issue, the porn pushers think they have evidence to support their point too. Here are the studies they always talk about:
*Berl Kutchinsky of Denmark studied the countries of Denmark, Sweden, West Germany, and the U.S.A. Kutchinsky showed that for the years 1964 to 1984, as the pornography became increasingly available, the rate of rapes in these countries either decreased, or remained relatively stable. These countries all legalized or decriminalized pornography in 1969, 1970, and 1973 respectfully. The rates of nonsexual violent crimes and nonviolent sex crimes (e.g., peeping and flashing) essentially decreased also. Only in the U.S. did it appear that in the 1970s and 1980s, as porn became increasingly available, that rape appeared to increase (5)(15)(16)(17)(18)(5). The theory Kutchinsky came up with based on his studies is that the easy availability of pornography had caused sex crimes to decrease by acting as a “safety-valve” for potential offenders.
*Studies of Croatioa and Shanghai, China also showed significant decreases in rape as pornography became increasingly available. To add to this data, it should be mentioned that yet unpublished studies from Poland, Finland, and the Czech Republic also similarly found that as the availability of pornography increased, the incidence of sex crimes decreased (7)(8)(9)(10)(19).
So what’s the catch? Why is there support for both sides? Well, the porn pushers love to talk about these studies because they seem to validate their points. What they don’t like to talk about is how the people who have since reviewed these studies have found some major flaws in the conclusions. It turns out that there are a couple of things that distorted the results.
First of all, at the same time that pornography was legalized in all of those countries, a lot of other sex crimes including peeping, “indecency towards women,” and certain types of incest, were also made legal. So with those things no longer considered a crime, it’s no wonder the crime rates dropped.
Second, Kutchinsky put rape in the same category as less serious sex crimes. That made it easier to hide the fact that serious crimes like rape actually increased after pornography was legalized in Denmark (5).
Porn advocates also don’t like to talk much about the results of studies in Sweden, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia, where the number of rapes increased when the constraints on the availability of pornography were lifted. Like how “when South Australia liberalized its laws on pornography and Queensland maintained its conservative policy . . . the number of rapes in Queensland remained at the same low level while South Australia’s showed a six fold increase” over a 13 year period (25).
There are some other things too that pro-pornography people like to say to discount the connection between pornography and sexual crime. Some people say it’s the characteristics of the people involved in sexual crime that matters more than the availability of pornography (1)(26)(27). Other researchers basically suggest that aggressive images rather than sexual images may be the primary instigation toward sexual offense (11)(12). Others reviewing the relation of aggression to sexual assault conclude it is time to discard the hypothesis that pornography contributes to increased sexual assault behavior and “may actually provide a catharsis to alleviate sexual aggression” (13). A lot of people call this the “Cathartic Theory.” (So, mostly it’s just a lot of “scientist people” that call it that. I mean, when was the last time you heard one of your friends talk about the Cathartic Theory?)
But no matter what people say to try to try and make pornography seem good or harmless, there’s enough evidence out there that says it’s not, especially when it’s in the wrong hands. With porn being so easy to find, affordable, and accessible, you’ve got to know what you’re up against. Learn the facts about the negative affects of porn—all of them, there’s way more than just the link between porn and sexual crime—and you’ll think twice before looking at it.
(1) Anderson, K.J. (2003). “Pornography”. http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/porno.html
(2) Baron, L., & Straus, M. (1984). Sexual stratification, pornography, and rape in the United States. In N. M. Malamuth & E. Donnerstein (Eds.), Pornography, sexual aggression (pp. 185-209). New York: Academic Press.
(3) Campbell, M.C., & Campbell, J.M. (2005). The Engines of World War III. Retrieved January 2011
(4) Carter, D. L., Prentky, R. A., Knight, R. A., Vanderveer, P. L., Boucher, R. J. (1987). “Use of Pornography in the Criminal and Developmental Histories of Sexual Offenders”. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2: 196–211.
(5) Cline, V. (2009). “Pornography’s Effects on Adults and Children”. Retrieved January 2011 http://www.scribd.com/doc/20282510/Dr-Victor-Cline-Pornography-s-Effects-on-Adults-and-Children
(6) Davies, K.A. (2004). “Voluntary exposure to pornography and men’s attitudes toward feminism and rape”. Journal of Sex Research. Retrieved Jan, 2011. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2372/is_n2_v34/ai_19551963/
(7) Diamond, M. (1999). The effects of pornography: an international perspective. In J. Elias, V. Bullough, V. Elias, G. Brewer, J. Douglas & W. Jarvis (Eds.), Pornography 101: Eroticism, Sexuality and the First Amendment (223–260) Amherst: Prometheus Press.
(8) Diamond, M. (in preparation). Pornography and Sex Crimes in Poland
(9) Diamond, M., & Kotula, O. (in preparation). Pornography and Sex Crimes in Finland.
(10) Diamond, M., Jozifkova, E., Weiss, P. (2010). “Pornography and Sex Crimes in the Czech Republic. Received: 29 July 2009 / Revised: 30 August 2010 /Accepted: 30 August 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010.
(11) Donnerstein, E., & Linz, D. (1986). Mass media sexual violence and male viewers: current theory and research. American Behavioral Scientist, 29, 601?618.
(12) Donnerstein, E., Linz, D., & Penrod, S. (1987). The question of Pornography: Research ?ndings and policy implications. New York: Free Press.
(13) Ferguson, C. J. and R. D. Hartley (2009). “14.” Aggression and Violent Behavior 14(5): 323-329.
(14) Kingston, D.A., Fedoroff, P., Firestone, P., Curry, S., Bradford, J.M. (2008). “Pornography Use and Sexual Aggression: The Impact of Frequency and Type of Pornography Use on Recidivism Among Sexual Offenders”. Aggressive Behavior, Vol. 34, p. 341–351.
(15) Kutchinsky, B. (1973). The effect of easy availability of pornography on the incidence of sex crimes: the Danish experience. Journal of Social Issues, 29, 163?181.
(16) Kutchinsky, B. (1983). Obscenity and pornography: behavioral aspects. In S. H. Kadish (Ed.), Encyclopedia of crime and justice, vol. 3. (pp. 1077?1086)New York: Free Press.
(17) Kutchinsky, B. (1991). Pornography and rape: theory and practice? Evidence from crime data in four countries where pornography is easily available. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 14, 47?64.
(18) Kutchinsky, B. (1992b). Pornography, sex crime and public policy. Paper presented at the Sex Industry and Public Policy, Canberra, Australia.
(19) Landripet, I., Stulhofer, A., & Diamond, M. (2006). “Assessing the in?uence of pornography on sexual violence: a cross-cultural perspective”. Paper presented at the International Academy for Sex Research Amsterdam, The Netherlands (July 12–15).
(20) Malamuth NM. Donnerstein E (1982): The effects of aggressive-pornographic of mass media stimuli. In Berkowitz L (Ed): “Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol.15.” New York: Academic Press.
(21) Malamuth NM, Donnerstein E (Eds) (1984): “Pornography and Sexual Aggression.” New York: Academic Press.
(22) Marshall, W.L. (1988). “The Use of Sexually Explicit Materials by Rapists, Child Molesters and Nonoffenders,” Journal of Sex Research, 25, No. 2, pp. 267-288.
(23) Peters, R. (2004). “The Link between Pornography and Violent Sex Crimes”. Retrieved January 2011. http://www.obscenitycrimes.org/news/Pornography-SexCrimes-Link-RWP.pdf
(24) Silbert, M.H., Pines, A.M. (1984). “Pornography and sexual abuse of women”. Sex Roles 10: 857–68.
(25) Watson, B., Welch, S.R. (2000). “Just Harmless Fun? Understanding the Impact of Pornography,” Enough Is Enough, http://www.enough.org/objects/justharmlessfun.pdf
(26) Winick, C., & Evans, J. T. (1994). Is there a national standard with respect to attitudes toward sexually explicit media material? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23(4), 405?419.
(27) Winick, C., & Evans, J. T. (1996). The relationship between nonenforcement of state pornography laws and rates of sex crime arrests. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 25(5), 439?453.
(28) Zillmann, D. (1986). “Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography”, Included in the Report of the Surgeon General’s Workshop on Pornography and Public Health, United States Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, August 4, 1986.
(29) Zillmann, D., Bryant, J. (1982). Pornography, sexual callousness, and the trivialization of rape. Journal of Communication, 32(4), 10-21.
(30) Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2010). Processes underlying the effects of adolescents’ use of sexually explicit internet material: The role of perceived realism. Communication Research, 37, 375-399. doi: 10.1177/0093650210362464

Facts and Figures
Print
Internet Pornography
420 million-plus pages of pornographic material online worldwide (IFR)
72 million worldwide visitors to porn websites monthly (IFR)
25% of all search engine requests daily are for pornography (68 million searches daily) (IFR)
2.5 billion daily pornographic emails (8% of total emails) (IFR)
42.7% Internet users who view porn (IFR)
100,000-plus websites are devote to child pornography (IFR)
20% of men admit to accessing pornography at work (IFR)
35% of those purchasing online porn make $75,000-plus annually (IFR)
The United States is the top producer of pornographic web pages with 244,661,900, or 89 percent (IFR)
Worldwide revenue from mobile phone pornography is $1 billion-plus and growing (Bryan-Low, Cassel and Pringle, David. “Sex Cells: Wireless Operators Find That Racy Cellphone Video Drives Surge in Broadband Use.” The Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2005)
Industry Size and Revenues
Annual revenues of the pornography industry in the U.S. are $13.3 billion. This is more than the revenues of the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball combined; more than NBC, CBS and ABC combined; larger than the revenues of the top technology companies (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple and Netflix) combined (IFR; 2006)
11,000-plus porn videos were produced in the U.S. in 2006, more than 20 times the number of mainstream Hollywood movies (60 Minutes, Dec. 5, 2007)
55% of the movie rentals in hotel chains are pornographic “adult entertainment” moves (Adult Video News)
The Internet accounted for $2.5 billion of the adult industry’s total U.S. revenues in 2004 (“Dirty Downloads Ready to Go on iPods,” Associated Press, Nov. 5, 2005)
Every second, $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography, 28,258 Internet viewers are viewing pornography, 372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines, and every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is made in the United States (IFR)
Impact
10% of adults admit to an addiction to online pornography (IFR)
20% of men admit they access pornography at work (IFR)
It is estimated that 15% of those using Internet pornography develop a compulsive habit that disrupts their lives (Pamela Paul, Pornified, 2004)
At the 2002 American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers convention, attorneys present reported that 56% of their recent divorce cases resulted from a spouse’s compulsive Internet porn use (Paul, 2005)
After watching just 6 hours of nonviolent pornography, research subjects in one study were much less likely to desire sexual intimacy with their real partners, or to be interested in marriage or children (Zillmann and Bryant, 1986)
70% of women say that they keep their cyber activities secret (IFR)
The links between pornography use and subsequent aggression was proved so successfully by Zillmann and Bryant that their studies cannot be replicated for fear of further harming research subjects (Paul, 2005)
17% of women struggle with pornography addiction (IFR)
9.4 million women access adult websites each month (IFR)
13% of women admit to accessing pornography at work (IFR)
1 in 3 visitors to pornographic websites are women (IFR)
70% of all Internet porn traffic occurs during workdays (9 am-5 pm) (Sextracker.com)
Studies show that after viewing pornography men are more likely to:
1. report decreased empathy for rape victims
2. report believing that a woman who dresses provocatively deserves to be raped
3. report anger at women who flirt but then refuse to have sex
4. report decreased sexual interest in their girlfriends or wives
5. report increased interest in coercing partners into unwanted sex acts
(“Pornography’s Effects on Interpersonal Relationships,” 2006, by Ana J. Bridges, University of Arkansas)
About 350 members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the nation’s top divorce attorneys, met in 2002 for an annual conference, where they reported in 2002 that more than half — 56% — of their recent divorce cases resulted from a spouse’s compulsive Internet porn use (Paul, 2005). The problems most frequently cited by the attorneys were: obsessive interest in pornographic sites, 56%; excessive time on computer, 47%; and excessive time communicating in chat rooms, 33%. According to Richard Berry, president of the Academy, “Pornography had an almost nonexistent role in divorce just seven or eight years ago”; its significant role now is “clearly due to the Internet.”
When 813 college students from six college campuses participated in a 2008 survey on pornography use, findings included: 86% of the men said they had viewed pornography in the last year; 48.4% were viewing pornography weekly; and 19.3% were viewing pornography almost every day. 31% of the women had viewed pornography in the last year and 3.2% were viewing pornography weekly. (Jason S. Carroll, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Larry J. Nelson, Chad D. Olson, Carolyn McNamara Barry, and Stephanie D. Madsen, “Generation XXX: Pornography Acceptance and Use among Emerging Adults.” 2008. Journal of Adolescent Research vol. 23 no. 1: 6-30.)
Children and Pornography
Four out of five 16-year-old boys and girls regularly access porn on the Internet, and that more than a quarter of young patients at a leading private clinic are being treated for addiction to online pornography, according a 2012 report by the Independent Parliamentary Inquiry Into Online Child Protection in the United Kingdom.http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/9603/20120419/internet-porn-pornography-children-uk.htm#jd8IoaCvEueGdiUs.99
11 years old is the average age of first exposure to Internet pornography (IFR)
85% of men arrested for possession of child pornography had sexually exploited a child, according to a 2008 study by Michael Bourke, chief psychologist for the US Marshals Service
76% of offenders convicted of Internet-related crimes against children admitted to contact sex crimes with children previously undetected by law enforcement and had an average of 30.5 child sex victims each, according to a 2000 study by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Reports by state-based Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) task forces confirms, through its law enforcement and fieldwork, the positive correlation between the possession of child pornography and the commission of crimes against children. For instance, the Pennsylvania-based ICAC task force reported that 51% of individuals arrested for pornography-related offenses were also determined to be actively molesting children or to have molested in the past. In Dallas, the ICAC task force found that 32% of offenders arrested over the course of one year for child pornography offenses were also molesting children or had molested in the past.
At least 80% of purchasers of child pornography are active abusers, and nearly 40% of the child pornographers investigated over the past several years, have sexually molested children in the past, according to the United States Postal Inspection Service. From January 1997 through March 2004, 1,807 child pornographers were arrested and 620 of these individuals were confirmed child molesters. Therefore, between 34-36% of these child pornographers were actual child molesters, defined as someone who had confessed to acts of molestation, someone who had a record for molestation, or someone who was involved in an overt act in order to procure children for sexual purposes. The 620 confirmed child molesters led to 839 child victims who were identified and rescued.
In a study of arrested child pornography possessors, 40% had both sexually victimized children and were in possession of child pornography. Of those arrested between 2000 and 2001, 83% had images involving children between the ages 6 and 12; 39% had images of children between ages 3 and 5; and 19% had images of infants and toddlers under age 3 (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Child Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings from the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study, 2005).
The main sex exploitation offense referred to U.S. attorneys shifted from sex abuse (73%) in 1994 to child pornography (69%) in 2006, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Child pornography matters accounted for 82% of the growth in sex exploitation matters referred from 1994 to 2006.
Child pornography is one of the fastest growing businesses online. In 2008, Internet Watch Foundation found 1,536 individual child abuse domains (Internet Watch Foundation, Annual Report, 2008)
The largest consumer group of Internet pornography is the 12-17-year-old age group (IFR)
Of all known child abuse domains, 58% are housed in the United States (Internet Watch Foundation, Annual Report, 2008)
The fastest growing demand in commercial websites for child abuse is for images depicting the worst type of abuse, including penetrative sexual activity involving children and adults and sadism or penetration by an animal (Internet Watch Foundation, Annual Report, 2008)
More than 20,000 images of child pornography posted online every week (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Oct., 8 2003)
Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children (National Center for Mission & Exploited Children)
Sources: Internet Filter Review (IFR) sources include: ABC, Associated Press, AsiaMedia, AVN, BBC, CATW, U.S. Census, Central Intelligence Agency, China Daily, Chosen.com, Comscore Media Metrix, Crimes Against Children, Eros, Forbes, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Free Speech Coalition, Google, Harris Interactive, Hitwise, Hoover’s, Japan Inc., Japan Review, Juniper Research, Kagan Research, ICMEC, Jan LaRue, The Miami Herald, MSN, Nielsen/NetRatings, The New York Times, Nordic Institute, PhysOrg.com, PornStudies, Pravda, Sarmatian Review, SEC filings, Secure Computing Corp., SMH, TopTenREVIEWS, Trellian, WICAT, Yahoo!, XBIZ
Additional sources of facts on pornography and sexual violence
CDC Injury Center: Sexual Violence
FBI: Human Trafficking
Internet Filter Review
Statistics culled from numerous sources
National Juvenile Online Victimization Survey Publications (Crimes Against Children Research Center at University of New Hampshire)
National Institute of Justice: Rape and Sexual Violence information
National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Extensive online resource
The Porn Economy
A video on pornography statistics
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Criminal Victimization reports from the Office of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women
A component of the U.S. Department of Justice; provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women and administer justice for and strengthen services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.